These are the pencils and crayons I bought from Fred Aldous (the fantastic art shop in Manchester, which we said goodbye to, for now, because our daughter is moving). Of course I tried them out immediately afterwards.
Tue-25-Aug-2026
Here is a sketch of the new paper I bought from my favourite shops in the UK. I’ve already started using the Cass art paper (300gsm cold press not)…but so far I don’t think I’ll be trying it again.
Sat-22-Aug-2026
These are the paints that I bought in the UK from Jackson’s in Hove and Cass Art in Brighton. The colours (from the left) are Aureoline (Rosa), Sap Green (Cass), undersea green (Daniel Smith), Opera pink (DS) and Lemon Yellow (Cass). From the label I thought the Aureoline was going to be browner…turns out it is just another yellow. I should have googled it beforehand.
Fri-21-Aug-2026
On this day we went into town for a last visit to Fred Aldous (a huge Manchester art materials store) and I indulged again by buying paper and some Caran D’Ache water soluble neocolour II Aquarelle crayons and some Faber-Castell watercolour pencils (which I used in this sketch). Afterwards we had coffee (to get out of a sudden shower of rain) at this place nearby and then went back to helping our daughter with more packing.
Wed-5-Aug-2026
Here is a late night sketch going back to a simple subject that I love to sketch (and collect of course)…art materials! These are my three favourite brushes: a Rosemary and Co. dagger travel brush, a Winsor & Newton squirrel mop brush and a (new) Faber-Castell water brush.
Wed-13-May-2026
On this day I spent part of my evening fiddling about squeezing in an extra few colours to my mini palette – so I got all my paints out. Do I have too many?
Wed-29-Apr-2026
I have been trying (and kind of failing) to reduce what I carry about daily for sketching. This kit includes, my mini watercolour set, water, a few Derwent watercolour pencils, a black pencil, a Sailor Fude pen, a Platinum Preppy pen, a TWSBI pen, some tissues, a uni-ball pen, a water brush, a white Posca pen, a big squirrel brush, a syringe, a kneadable eraser, a little water pot, a Rosemary and Co. dagger brush and a wrist band for wiping my brushes.
Wed-22-Apr-2026
My wife was given a little tin box to put watercolours in and seeing it, I couldn’t resist buying one myself. I have put a basic range of 6 colours in half-pans in it (though I might split some of these into two quarter pans), including some relatively new colours that I don’t use often. It’s so small (just 6x5cm) that it fits in my roll up pencil case.
Mon-20-Apr-2026
This is the ink I got from my daughters for my birthday. It’s Sailor Seiboku, a lovely turquoise blue, water resistant and, so far, has shown no sign of blocking my preppy pen. The paper is from a 160gsm Mixed Media pad from Artists Loft – which I bought in Canada last year. So far it is pretty good – smooth to draw on, doesn’t pill too much and it can take quite a lot working. It does buckle a bit (understandable) and struggles with watercolour layers, but otherwise is good.
Tue-7-Apr-2026